University of Southern California s10

University of Southern California Marshall School of Business Managerial Perspectives GBSA 522a and 522b Winter 2016-2017

Professor Dr. Trudi C. Ferguson Office: Hoffman Hall – 428 Marshall Business School University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA 90080

Telephone: 818 653-4407 (cell) E-mail: [email protected] Office hours: Monday 5 to 6 p.m. And by appointment

This course is designed to explore contemporary managerial perspectives leading to optimizing organization design. Students will be exposed to an overview of theories and practical applications directed at organizational effectiveness. How can you create, foster, and mange organizations in which people thrive and perform at their best? It assumes that thriving employees and groups are the key to organizational excellence. This is a fast paced course providing a good fundamental overview of various managerial topics.

The course also provides opportunity for students to explore their own personal perspectives and competencies. Students will practice skill development in an effort toward increasing professional competency and comfort. How can you find and/or create a context in which you operate at your best? There will be ample opportunity to apply organizational behavior theories in class exercises.

This course is based on the assumptions that managerial excellence (and personal flourishing) is fundamentally tied to creating and enabling organizational contexts that build human strengths and unlock the positive and generative dynamics of vibrant human communities.

Course Objectives

1) Develop an understanding of current theory and practice regarding organizational effectiveness through an integration of exercises, case analyses, applied readings, videos, discussion and feedback, guest lectures, and personal and group experiences and reflection. 2) Develop an understanding of the nature of managerial roles and how to lead, direct, and improve organizational, group, and individual performance. 3) Learn about the nature of organizations as systems, and needs for change and alignment within their particular contexts. 4) Learn about the need for collaborative behavior and how to design and develop effective teams and develop interpersonal competence. 5) Learn to understand cultural and value differences, and to learn how and when to create opportunities for organizational and personal growth. 6) Become more aware of your own managerial style, motives, skills, strengths, and weaknesses. 7) Increase awareness of yourself and others in groups; to see how personal characteristics affect group behavior; and to understand better how to manage groups. 8) Become more aware of, and knowledgeable about, why people behave as they do in organizations, and to improve your diagnostic ability in applying your knowledge to human problems in organizations. 9) Enrich your portfolio of practical tools and ideas for putting your theory of practice into use.

Required Reading:

Case Reader: Digitized cases and additional reading. Extra readings are suggested in syllabus but not required.

If you would like to refer to a textbook for general overview I recommend:

Robbins, Stephen P. & Judge, Timothy A, Organizational Behavior, 17th ed., Prentice Hall, 2016.

Evaluations:

Final grades will be determined by the following components and weighting:

522ab Course Weight Class Participation 10%

Faculty Focus Paper 10%

Group Organizational 20% Analysis Paper/Presentation Midterm 25% Final 35%

NOTE: Each member of your group/team doing the organizational analysis paper will receive the same grade. Grading: Grades will be based on your thoughtful class participation and an assessment of your absorption of the material.

Participation and attendance (10%): The nature of this class is highly interactive. Your grade for participation will be based on your attendance, preparation, thoughtful and active involvement and contribution. High participation grades will not necessarily be those who speak most during class. Rather, they will be students who make the most meaningful contributions to discussion. Missed class session will hinder your performance and your grade. Please advise me of any attendance issues. Consulting classmates for relevant learning from the missed class should follow missed session. The expectation is that students will be in class and have reading and assignments prepared and on time. You are expected to attend every class on time and to stay for the entire class session. I have a sign in sheet for each class. Please only sign your own name. Do not sign for a classmate. Plan ahead and take care of your physical needs so that you can stay throughout—it’s not OK to simply walk in and out of the classroom during class time. If you have an unavoidable conflict, please do not disturb your classmates by arriving late, leaving early, or asking to have information you missed repeated during the class Learning will come from your own high involvement. I encourage you to take the wonderful class opportunity to process the material by thoughtful testing of ideas, doubts, personal experiences, questions, testing new behaviors, and alternative perspectives. It will be important to our class learning that you share your own reactions and provide your observations to fellow classmates. Much of the richness of learning will be from sharing experiences with classmates.

Please be sure to have your name cards at your desk for all classes.

No gadgets: Please turn off all cell phones and computers. I have a “no gadgets” (laptops, cell phones, pdas, etc.) policy in class! Notes will be posted on blackboard.

Faculty Focus Paper and Report (10%) Each member of your team will individually pick one different faculty from the faculty videos to investigate further and write a two-page summary of that faculty’s significant ideas. Use the videos as a stimulus but do further investigation into their ideas. You can consider faculty research, papers, other video/web postings, books, articles, etc by this faculty. Tie their ideas to real life organizational situations and organizational theories we are exploring in class. Your paper should be a short summary of their main ideas, supplemented with your additional research on that faculty’s work applied to organizational settings and theories. Your individual papers should be posted in blackboard discussion group by 1/29. After that date you should read all your team/group members posting and make at least a total of two comments on each paper to be posted no later than 2/1.

Group Organization Analysis Paper/Presentation (20%) This assignment will result in a 7 -10-page paper (double spaced) and a five-minute class presentation, both based on the findings of your personal investigation into an organization (in which you do not currently work) but in a field that interests you. Aim high and try to find a compelling organization. You will do data gathering on this organization including several in person interviews and other approaches you determine such as research, survey, focus groups, or observation. You will focus on two of the organizations most salient issues: one a sustaining strength and the second an important current concern. This action research will give you a picture of organizational issues matching topics covered in class such as data analysis, leadership, motivation, teamwork, conflict, decision making, change, culture, etc. Pick the organization’s most relevant competency and concern for your analysis and report. Based on your organizational assessment, in reference to our materials in class, you will make recommendations regarding this organization to maximize effective functioning. Be specific and creative in your recommendations. Support your ideas with class theories.

Grades will be based on quality and depth of data gathering techniques, inclusion of a variety of perspectives, the comprehensive analysis of your chosen issues in that organizational context, your links to class theories covered, your discussion and intelligent creative recommendations. The five-minute class presentation of your findings might use a short power point, skit, or any other creative conceit. Your group may choose the most effective way to communicate to class using one to all of your group members. Your oral presentation should include your methodology, findings, and recommendations. We hope to have participation of the Communication Professors to help evaluate your live presentation and support your learning from the Fall Core. All papers and oral presentations will be due 2/8/2017. You will also provide a Peer review with analysis of your group member’s contributions. This peer review is due with the paper.

Midterm (25) and Final (35%) The midterm (12/10) will be true –false and multiple choice. The final (2/15) will also include true- false, multiple choice, short answers, and case analysis asking for applications of theories learned to situational problems. The questions will cover class readings, class discussions, and your own reflections. The midterm will cover material from the beginning of the term to the midterm. The final will NOT be cumulative but cover only material after the midterm until the end of the term. The purposes of the exams are to access your basic understanding of the concepts and your ability to apply ideas to situational organization issues. The final will be divided into two sections: true/false, multiple choice, and separately, short answers. Each section will be awarded half the total grade.

The average grade for the course is targeted to be no higher than a ‘B+’ (3.3). 3.3 is the norm. Your grade will be based on your own performance in comparison with the performance of your peers. Grades will be posted in blackboard as completed. Please feel free to consult with me regarding any grading concerns. If you need a letter with your grade at the midterm, please ask both Jeanette Christensen and me BEFORE the midterm, otherwise it cannot be provided in a timely manner. There are multiple sections of GSBA 522 and each section will be graded individually.

Other Important Information Support Systems Students whose primary language is not English should check with the American Language Institute http://dornsife.usc.edu/ali, which sponsors courses and workshops specifically for international graduate students. The Office of Disability Services and Programs (www.usc.edu/disability) provides certification for students with disabilities and helps arrange the relevant accommodations. If an officially declared emergency makes travel to campus infeasible, USC Emergency Information (http://emergency.usc.edu/) will provide safety and other updates, including ways in which instruction will be continued by means of blackboard, teleconferencing, and other technology.

Academic Integrity and Conduct USC seeks to maintain an optimal learning environment. General principles of academic honesty include the concept of respect for the intellectual property of others, the expectation that individual work will be submitted unless otherwise allowed by an instructor, and the obligations both to protect one’s own academic work from misuse by others as well as to avoid using another’s work as one’s own (plagiarism). Plagiarism – presenting someone else’s ideas as your own, either verbatim or recast in your own words – is a serious academic offense with serious consequences. All students are expected to understand and abide by the principles discussed in the SCampus, the Student Guidebook (www.usc.edu/scampus or http://scampus.usc.edu). A discussion of plagiarism appears in the University Student Conduct Code (section 11.00 and Appendix A).

Students will be referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards for further review, should there be any suspicion of academic dishonesty. The Review process can be found at: http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/SJACS/ . Failure to adhere to the academic conduct standards set forth by these guidelines and our programs will not be tolerated by the USC Marshall community and can lead to dismissal. For courses with an ACC prefix please use this wording in lieu of the above two paragraphs: Students enrolled in any class offered by the Leventhal School of Accounting are expected to uphold and adhere to the standards of academic integrity established by the Leventhal School of Accounting Student Honor Code. Students are responsible for obtaining, reading, and understanding the Honor Code System handbook. Students who are found to have violated the Code will be subject to disciplinary action as described in the handbook. For more specific information, please refer to the Student Honor Code System handbook, available in class or from the receptionist in ACC 101. Discrimination, sexual assault, and harassment are not tolerated by the university. You are encouraged to report any incidents to the Office of Equity and Diversity http://equity.usc.edu/ or to the Department of Public Safety http://dps.usc.edu/contact/report/. This is important for the safety of the whole USC community. Another member of the university community – such as a friend, classmate, advisor, or faculty member – can help initiate the report or can initiate the report on behalf of another person. Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention and Services (RSVP) https://engemannshc.usc.edu/rsvp/ provides 24/7 confidential support, and the sexual assault resource center webpage https://sarc.usc.edu/reporting-options/ describes reporting options and other resources.

Policy Regarding Return of Graded Work The Marshall School of Business policy for returning papers is as follows: “Returned paperwork, unclaimed by a student, will be discarded after 4 weeks and hence, will not be available should a grade appeal be pursued by a student following receipt of his/her course grade.” Any grading issues should be raised within a week of returned assignments. Course Outline and Assignments

Course 522a

11/9 What is Organizational Excellence? How do you know when you see it?

Required: Must read before the first class!

Building the Business Case for Managing People Right Data Gathering

How Netflix Reinvented HR HBR; Jan-Feb 2014 The Secret Startup That Saved the Worst Website in America; The Atlantic July 9, 2015

Prepare: Taking Charge In Los Angeles: Bill Bratton and LAPD BEFORE reading Tipping Point, think about how would you “Take Charge” coming into LAPD? Make a few notes of your proposed approach. Then read case below

Case: Tipping Point Leadership. 2003.

Preparation Questions:

1. How did Bratton “manage” his employees? How did he ensure performance? 2. How did Bratton align employees with larger organizational goals and mission?

11/16 ELC Subartic Survival

Motivation Fostering Excellence through Performance Management, Motivation and Rewards.

Readings: Behavior Is a Function of Its Consequences. From Astonishing Power of Positive Reinforcement. Daniels (p.25-69) The Talent Myth. Malcolm Gladwell. On the Folly of Rewarding A while Hoping for B. Kerr Money and Happiness: Here’s Why You Won’t Laugh All the Way to the Bank 2006 WSJ August 16, 2006 Do Financial Incentives Drive Company Performance? An Evidence- Based Approach to Motivation and Rewards. Jeffrey Pfeffer, Robert Sutton. HBSP. 2006. Pygmalion in Management Livingston HBR .2002.

Consulting Groups: Each team will consult with another team to explore a real organizational problem of motivation and develop recommendations based on good judgment, professional experience, and reference to readings.

11/23 Holiday No class

11/30 No class

12/7 ELC Leadout

Groups Fostering Excellence through the Design of High Performance Teams Team Feedback Session Using Theory Feedback.

Readings: Managing your team (HBS note 494-081) Griskevicius, Vladas; Cialdini, Robert; Goldstein, Noah; Applying and Resisting Peer Influence. MIT Sloan Management Review Winter 2009 Vol 49. No 2. Power plays into decision-making: Faught Does Power Cloud the Ability to Make Good Choices: Bergman Marshall Insight: Power's False Clarity Divides Managers, Employees The Cost of Social Norms Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. Malcolm Gladwell. 2005. Aiming for an Evolutionary Advantage: Google: Management Innovation in Action. Gary Hamel, Bill Breen. HBSP. 2007. N.Y. Times: Google Quest to Build a Better Boss 2011

Case: Taran Swan at Nickelodean Latin America ((A) 9-400-036)

Preparation Questions:

1. Evaluate Swan as a team leader. What are her strengths and weaknesses? 2. How effective is the team? Justify your assessment. 3. Should she appoint an interim director?

12/10 Mid Term 8 a.m. to noon

Winter Break 12/12 to 1/6

1/11 Managing your way toward Excellence: Change, Culture.

Reading: Leading Change: Why Transformational Efforts Fail. HBR. 1995. Kotter The Third Stone: Inspiring Initiation and Innovation. Chapter 9 of Confidence. Rosabeth Kanter Leveraging Culture for Innovation and Competitive Advantage. Michael Tushman, Charles O’Reilly

Case: Zappos.com 2009: Clothing, Customer Service and Company Culture Jan 2010 610015 PDF ENG

Preparation Questions: 1. How does Zappos manage its company culture? What are its active and passive strategies? 2. Does Zappos’ culture come from the top, or does it grow bottom-up? 3. Could Zappos’culture survivie if Tony Hsieh left? If Zappos were sold to a new, hands-on owner? (Acquired now by Amazon) 4. How viable is Zappos’emphasis on culture and customer service?

Preparation Questions: Spend some time considering your organization’s culture. If a cultural anthropologist were to enter your organization today, what would he or she see/hear/sense—and what values would these artifacts reflect?

Conflict/Values/Diversity

1/18 No class

1/25 DO NOT COME TO CLASS But you are responsible for watching the faculty videos to be explained in class. Each member of your group will prepare a TWO-page paper on additional writings and videos of a different selected faculty presenter (selected from the faculty presenting online) and post online in bb discussion. The paper should be posted by 1/29. You are also responsible for posting two additional comments on each teammates postings by 2/1.

2/1 ELC Omega Fostering excellence through Leadership Possible Guest Speaker Hourihan

Reading: Developing the Expert Leader. Morgan McCall, Jr. George Hollenbeck.

Primal Leadership: The Hidden Driver of Great Performance. Goleman, Daniel, Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee. HBR. 2001.

2/8 Organizational Analysis Presentations All papers are due on this date.

*FINAL is 2/15 6 to 8 p.m.

(NONE OF THE EXTRA READINGS ARE REQUIRED READING —THEY ARE LISTED TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THE TOPIC OF THE CLASS):

11/11 The Southwest Airlines Way: Jody Hoffer Gittell (New York; McGraw- Hill, 2003). It is a comparative account of why and how Southwest maintains excellence. Another book for those interested in this topic is Good to Great (2001) by Jim Collins. The Agility Factor: Building Adaptable Organizations for Superior Performance. Christopher G. Worley, Thomas Williams and Edward E. Lawler III Jossey-Bass, 2014.

11/18 Dishonesty in the Name of Equity. Francesca Gino and Lamar Pierce Psychological Science. 2009. Born to Be Good. The Science of a Meaningful Life. Dacher Keltner. W.W. Norton & Co. 2009. Stumbling on Happiness. Daniel Gilbert. Vintage. 2007. Outliers: Malcolm Gladwell. Little Brown. 2008.

12/9 Rethinking Political Correctness. Ely, Robin, Debra Meyerson, and Martin Davidson. HBR. 2006. How Google sold Its Engineers on Management. David Garvin. HBSP Dec 1, 2013 Millineum Makeover Winograd, M. A., Hais, M. (2008). Millennial Makeover: MySpace, YouTube and the Future of American Politics. Rutgers University Press.

1/13 Built to Change: How to Achieve Sustained Organizational Effectiveness. Foreword, Preface, Developing the Right Information, Measurement, and Decision-Making Processes. Ed Lawler, Christopher Worley. 2006. Quinn, R.E. 2004. Building the Bridge as You Walk On It. John Wiley. Corporations, Culture, and Commitment: Motivation and Social Control in Organizations. Charles O’Reilly California Management Review. 1989. Shaping Organizational Culture. Michael Tushman, Charles O’Reilly. HBSP Kelley, T. 2001. The Art of Innovation: Lessons in Creativity from IDEO, America’s Leading Design Firm.

Career Management and Development Principles of Personal Management (Covey, p.146-182) R. Kelly, How to be a Star at Work: 9 Breakthrough Strategies you need to Succeed, Crown Publishing Group, 1999. J. Loehr, & T. Shwartz, The Power of Full Engagement: Managing energy, not time, is the key to high performance and personal renewal, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003. Pearson, C.M. & Porath, C.L. 2005 On the Nature, Consequences and Remedies of Incivility: No Time for “Nice”? Think Again. Academy of Management Executive. Behavioral Anchor Rating Scale Classroom Participation

Outstanding Performance  initiates information relative to topics discussed  accurately exhibits knowledge of assignment content  demonstrates excellent listening by remaining on ‘same page’ as rest of class, as evidenced by follow-up comments/questions  brings up questions that need to be further explored  clarifies points that others may not understand  draws upon personal experience or personal opinion  offers relevant, succinct input to class  demonstrates ability to apply, analyze and synthesize course material  demonstrates willingness to take risk in attempting to answer unpopular questions

Very Good Performance  regularly participates in class discussions  shares relevant feedback  gives feedback to classroom group discussions  consistently demonstrates knowledge of reading assignments  demonstrates ability to analyze/apply course material  demonstrates willingness to attempt to answer questions

Good/Average Performance  participates in group discussion when solicited  offers clear, concise, ‘good’ information relative to class assignments  offers input in class or group, but tends to reiterate the intuitive  attends class regularly

Low Performance  occasional input, often irrelevant, unrelated to topic  reluctant to share information  not following flow of ideas  drains energy from class goals

Unacceptable Performance  fails to participate, even when solicited (in small or large groups)  gives no input in any format  shows up to class; does nothing  group/ classroom distraction Appendix B: Peer Evaluations Please allocate 100 points across all the members of your group apart from yourself to reflect your assessment of their individual contributions to the group effort. I will treat your assessments as confidential. Your name: ______Group-member name: Contribution: 1. ______2. ______3. ______Total: 100 In the space below, provide some summary comments that can be fed back to each of your group members: Greatest Strength 1. ______2. ______3. ______Areas for Improvement: 1. ______2. ______3. ______